A message from Snape Maltings:
In the light of the ongoing Coronavirus situation, it is with enormous sadness that we have to cancel the 2020 Aldeburgh Festival.
In these difficult times, our critical focus remains maintaining our vital work supporting artists and communities, and we rely on ticket sales and philanthropy to deliver the majority of this wide-ranging activity. We are living in uncertain times, but we know that music and the arts has the power to make positive change in people’s lives. When we emerge from this lockdown period, this mission will be more important than ever.
If you can, we’d be enormously grateful if you would make a donation to our vital work, which makes a deeply positive impact on thousands of lives every year. Together, we can combat the lasting impact of this virus by bringing the joy of music into people’s lives once again.
All of us at Snape Maltings thank you for your generous support during this uncertain time and wish you and those closest to you strength for the days to come.
We look forward to welcoming you back to Snape again soon.
“One of the most important works of art yet to emerge from the era of Black Lives Matter.”
— The New York Times
Julia Bullock inhabits the body of a reimagined Joséphine Baker in this darker, more intimate consideration of the life and legacy of the famous singer, activist, and cultural icon. With texts by poet Claudia Rankine and music recomposed by Tyshawn Sorey (both MacArthur Fellows).
Performers & Creative Team
Julia Bullock, soprano
Tyshawn Sorey, composer, drums, percussion, and piano
Conceived by Peter Sellars & Julia Bullock
Directed by Zack Winokur
Texts by Claudia Rankine
Choreography by Michael Schumacher
Alice Teyssier, flutes
Ryan Muncy, saxophone
Rebekah Heller, bassoon
Jennifer Curtis, violin
Daniel Lippel, guitar
Perle Noire: Meditations for Joséphine was funded through ICE's First Page commissioning program with lead support from Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting.
Performances and commissioning activities during the 2019-20 concert season are made possible by the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, A.N. and Pearl G. Barnett Family Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music Inc., Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, Amphion Foundation, Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Pacific Harmony Foundation, Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, mediaThe foundation inc., The Casement Fund, BMI Foundation, as well as public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council for the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the Illinois Arts Council Agency. The International Contemporary Ensemble is the Ensemble in Residence of the Nokia Bell Labs Experiments in Art and Technology. Yamaha Artist Services New York is the exclusive piano provider for ICE.